Bitter Deals
by Emo-Shukun
Summary: Rangiku keeps blackmailing Toushirou until they find out Ichigo is severely ill. There are two people that can help him, and Toushirou does what he can without Ichigo knowing. Because of this... Ichigo can hear Toushirou's thoughts, and wield his blade.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01**

**Bitter Deals**

**Now—**

Hitsugaya Toushirou was forced on the bus with seven other Shinigami officers as a _vacation_, and he did not like it one little bit. His turquoise hues stared outside the window of the large bus that carried about fifty people inside it, but his attention was already taken. He stared at the snow-coated land as they kept going farther and farther into the mountains where they would be dropped off. The captain wanted to return to Soul Society to train and do his reports, but heard who were going to participate.

Hinamori Momo was with them, fooling around with the large-breasted woman who insisted of fooling around while they were still on the bus. It had been five years since the war, and it was only three years ago did she begin to heal from all her physical and mental scars. Though the wounds should have been healed in the first year prior to the end of the war, she needed to hear the words of someone wise. She the stood up in her seat to look at the male carrot top that was watching the world outside of the bus as the captain was doing. The thought of him helping her recover was mutiny, although Toushirou could not complain when it allowed Momo to get better. Whatever the college boy had said to her after he regained his Shinigami powers, it had worked, but now he was Momo's new focus most of the time.

"Psst, Taichou," the woman whispered. Toushirou glanced at her unhappily. "Want to make a deal?"

Matsumoto Rangiku had been doing everything in her power to keep herself entertained during the entire drive to their upcoming destination. They were supposed to spend four weeks at some resort where they each would get their own private rooms, thankfully. Toushirou looked away as a sign that he would not get himself involved in her crazy antics of having a moment of thrill and adventure. Things only became worse as she removed herself from her seat and leaned over Hisagi Shuuhei's lap to look at her captain more closely. Hisagi earned himself a nosebleed and fled to the bathroom in the back of the bus, giving her the chance to steal his seat.

"I'll do all of my paperwork for an entire week if you agree." She smiled as a temptress would to her victim. "All you have to do is one little thing, and allow me the chance to get it on camera, okay?"  
>"Whatever it is, I'm not interested." The captain continued staring outside his window. "Go away."<br>"Okay, okay," Rangiku tried again. "I'll do my paperwork, your paperwork, and bring you your tea for a week." He started to show interest, but it vanished. "Come on Taichou, don't make me blackmail you."  
>His icy gaze met her playful one. "What is it that you want me to do, that the other Shinigami can't?"<br>Her hands clasped together happily. "I want you to kiss Ichigo on the lips." Immediately, he turned to watch the world outside of the bus. "…okay, I guess I'll have to get Hinamori to do it instead then—"  
>"Fine," Toushirou bristled angrily. He could not believe that she would use Momo like that. "Later."<p>

Abarai Renji glared at the two from his seat diagonally behind them after listening to the deal that they made without Kurosaki Ichigo's knowledge. He wanted to tell the male two rows up that they were planning to use him for their own amusement, but knew he would get in trouble. There was also a good chance that Ichigo heard the conversation on his own despite being distracted by the happy Momo that was trying to gain his attention. Oh well, he thought, if Ichigo figures out that they were using him for their own amusement, they would eventually get what was coming to them.

Kuchiki Rukia elbowed him in the ribs with a scowl as she shook her head towards him; knowing what he was thinking about. She must have heard them talk too, otherwise she would not have looked at him with such disapproving eyes right now. Did she really want them to go forth with their plan about how they would get the captain to kiss the male adult on the lips? Then again, he forgot that girls liked that kind of thing—that they got off on it when two males were all over each other. He did not like the visual in his mind of the captain kissing the target; if it was himself kissing Ichigo, then it was more appealing. Who in the world who want to kiss someone that was only waist high to them and was one hundred years older? If anything, the thought alone could turn someone off, but looking at the captain—that they all knew was a virgin, it was something that someone could explore.

Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika toned out the others by having their own loud conversation so that they would not be involved in anything that the perverted woman could concoct. A little over a minute later, Shuuhei returned to see that his see was taken, so he took her seat in return since it did not matter where anyone sat. Momo did not want to sit next to him though, so she kindly asked Rangiku to switch seats with her so she could sit next to Toushirou with Ichigo in her view. Rangiku forced the poor flushed lieutenant that had just returned, to sit next to the cold window in order to take her seat back. Shuuhei did not mind relinquishing the seat to her, but there was tightness in his pants that began to cry for attention that he could not give.

"Hey, Hinamori, don't you think Ichigo's cute?" Rangiku teased merrily.  
>Her cheeks tinted red. "D-Don't talk about Kurosaki-kun that way!"<br>Toushirou rolled his eyes, counting down. _'Three… two… one…'_  
>"Rangiku-san," Ichigo called quietly. "Leave Hinamori alone."<p>

"Kay!" Said woman smiled happily.

Momo peered at the man curiously when hearing his dull tone. "Are you okay?" She skipped over to sit next to the carrot top, checking his forehead. "Kurosaki-kun, you have a fever!" Everyone on the bus jumped at the accusation, yelling in disbelief. "We need water! Someone—anyone! Get an ice pack—!"  
>"I'm fine, I had a long night, that's all." Hearing him say this, everyone returned to their seats, but she continued to pester him by checking his forehead, his cheeks, his pulse. "Will you stop trying to molest me?" He smiled weakly at the worried one. "I said I'm fine, stop worrying so much Hinamori, okay?"<br>"But I have to worry! Remember the time I told you that Shirou-chan got sick when we lived in—eek!" She squealed by accident as Ichigo began to tickle her endlessly in order to hear her fits of laughter. "I give, I give! Y-You win!" Momo laughed uncontrollably as he continued. "P-Please! I—I surrender!"  
>After a moment, he listened. "Want to do me a favor?" Ichigo asked softly, and she nodded excitedly. "How about you go sit over there next to Toushirou to keep him company, alright?" Hearing the simple task, she nodded excitedly once more. "Good, now get over there." He nudged her carefully, as she left.<p>

"Hi Shirou-chan!" Momo plopped back into the sit next to him. "I'm going to keep you company!"

"…so I heard…" Said male growled lightly at the interaction between the two. She _always_ listened to him now, and he was a little jealous of him. "Why not stay over there with Kurosaki and behave Hinamori?"  
>"Because Kurosaki-kun said to keep you company silly." She wrapped her arms around his arm that was closest to her, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired though, so I'm going to take a nap now."<br>Although Toushirou was not thrilled about, her being clinging to him, but it was better than watching her holding on to Ichigo. "Hang on!" The bus driver called out, forcing everyone to stir in alarm to this.

Before anyone could react to what he had to say, the bus made a loud bursting sound, and the entire vehicle was jerking and twisting around. A window shattered near Ichigo's seat that caused a majority of the girls to scream in fear of what was going on around them. It then came to an abrupt halt. They did not actually fall off the narrow road as surprising as it was… it was as if they hit a brick wall somehow. If this were a way to entertain those on the bus that were bored, they would probably want a refund now.

"Is everyone okay!" A man in the front yelled.

Everyone looked around to check on others, "Kurosaki-kun?" Momo called worriedly to the motionless male that had not moved through the entire episode, and she began to panic in fear. "Kurosaki—"

Ichigo appeared through the shattered window in Shinigami form, slipping inside and entering his human body tiredly. The Shinigami all sighed in relief to see that he was okay—that it was most likely his doing that the bus did not fall off the cliff side. He stood up slowly, looking at everyone while asking if anyone was hurt in any way as Momo instantly clung to his arm. They all answered him quietly, telling him that everyone was okay and that no one was hurt from the spin until they pointed at him. His cheek, forehead, and neck were all cut, scraped, and bloody due to the broken glass from what he could tell.

"I'm fine, no worries." The carrot top smiled to fool them. He looked to the driver. "Can we get going?"  
>"Sorry, but everyone stay here, we have a flat tire." Patiently, the driver went out to check on things.<br>"Not anymore we don't." Ichigo mumbled to himself as he slowly came back down to sit properly.  
>As some were going to look at him, the driver came back in. "I guess… we ran over an animal. Let's go."<p>

As fast as the accident was, they were up and out of the situation just as fast—or… so they thought as the driver got up and said that there was a problem. In the process of stopping the bus before it fell off the edge, the back tires were stuck behind a dent in the road on the slope. Everyone began to sound a little down on this, but Ichigo stood up slowly and looked around towards the large group.

"Hisagi-san, Ikkaku, Renji, Yumichika, come with me. Toushirou, keep an eye on the others." Ichigo left the bus through the door as the called males followed him obediently. _'Honestly, this is getting tiring.'_

Toushirou watched the five males leave the bus and go around to the back to push it out of the hole in the ground. He was slightly bummed that he was not called to join the mass of males that were told to help get the bus going. However, he told himself that he did not have to do anything because he was a captain, and not because of his young teenager appearance. The five men turned into ten as they all swallowed their pills to turn into Shinigami officers so that they all could push the large vehicle. Or, so everyone thought as there were actually eight that were pushing while one—still in his gigai—was watching from the side to tell them to their progress. Shinigami officers in their gigai inside of the bus heard Renji yell 'bankai' but was interrupted; they were starting to get a little curiously.

Before they knew it, the bus was shoved forward, and the driver got it to drive away about ten feet.

Five men entered the bus, took their seats, and the bus drove off.

Momo ended up sitting with Ichigo after that.

Rangiku came over to sit next to her glum captain, whispering. "I'll be sure to not drink for the week too, if, you manage to kiss Ichigo on the lips _before_ we leave the bus when we arrive at the resort. Okay?"

* * *

><p>"Okay everyone, single file." Ichigo called, now sitting in the front row as he watched over everyone.<p>

If it was not obvious; the professors that were with them were hardly listened to outside the classroom, but everyone listened to Ichigo. Everyone filed orderly out of the bus so far, the Shinigami members were in the very back, the last three were Renji, Toushirou, and Rangiku. The captain was still debating on his choices that he was given—she offered a lot for some stupid human greeting, so why not?

"If you upset Ichigo in any way," Renji started in a quiet voice, not looking at Toushirou while they were still trying to make their way outside of the bus. Almost escaping it. "I'll make sure you lose your title."

Toushirou nearly smirked at the threat, but it did not bother him as much as knowing that the lieutenant behind him had a camera waiting. Renji left the bus to meet up with the others, and before the captain knew it… he tripped over his shoelace, and landed on top of the seated man. Rangiku took the quick opportunity and to the picture of them lip locking with them both looking surprised at the action. Ichigo discarded what happen by helping him to his feet, telling him to go outside and tie his shoe quickly.

After Rangiku came out, Ichigo slowly came out as well, telling everyone to grab his or her belongings.

_'I can't believe I actually did that, and it was an accident, too.'_ Toushirou knelt down to tie his shoe, but stared at his left hand that was covered in blood. _'I didn't touch his face, I touched his abdomen when he caught my fall…'_ His attention went to the carrot top to see him holding his side as if he were having a case of bad cramps. _'What caused you to bleed so heavily?'_ He grabbed his bag and walked with them.

It was not a surprise that the males and female were separated to different lodges, much to all the male Shinigami officers please. The last thing that they wanted was for Rangiku to charge into their rooms without permission… with who knows what attire. Ichigo took his room at the front of the lodge, Renji took the next one while Shuuhei took the one next to him. Toushirou managed to take the room across from Ichigo, Ikkaku took the room next to his while Yumichika took the one next to him. There was only about five minutes before forty males entered the lodge; the next batch us college students came to the resort, and there was still a bus left. As everyone put his or her things away, Toushirou had managed to pack his belongings in their drawers rather quickly in order to visit Ichigo's room.

"Kurosaki?" He opened the door to see the man shirtless. "Oh, sorry. I'll—"  
>"We're both guys, Toushirou." Ichigo stated with his back to him. "What is it?"<br>"Your wound, how bad is it?" The captain watched him turn. It was very bad…  
>"I got the shard out after you shoved it in further. How did you figure it out then?"<p>

"I was about to tie my shoe as you told me to, and saw the blood on my hand." Toushirou walked over and was about to heal his injury with kidou. The other grabbed his wrist quickly with a hand. "Relax, I was going to heal it." There was hesitation before his wrists were released. "Why did you hide this?"  
>Ichigo cringed at the healing process. "Should I really worry Hinamori?" The captain made no sign of response, and finished healing it. "By the way." He stood up, walking over to bring out a shirt. "The next time Rangiku-san forces you to come on to me. Have the guts to brush her off, she's <em>your<em> subordinate."  
>"How did—" The door was fiercely slammed, causing him to scrunch his face at the harsh echo of the door. <em>'Did he hear me and Matsumoto talking about it?'<em> He thought everything over, trying to remember if there was a possibility or not. _'No, he was focused on Hinamori.'_ Still, Ichigo had a point in his words.

But the offer was too good to ignore.

Renji opened the door, looking at the captain unhappily. "So he already knew, too."  
>"I came in here to heal his wound as an apology." He stood his ground. "Yes, he knew."<br>The redhead smirked. "There's nothing in the world you can do to heal _his_ wound."  
>"Though I understand you are Kurosaki's friend. You should remember your place here."<br>His eyes hardened. "You forget." He began to yell. "Ichigo is in charge, not you!"

"Renji." Ikkaku called out, startling the two. "Back off, Hitsugaya-Taichou has nothing to do with what happened between you guys." He walked passed him with Yumichika at his side as always. "Hitsugaya-Taichou, you should come snowboard with us. Rukia-chan and Hinamori-Fukutaichou would like that."  
>"Ah, I'll keep that in mind then." To avoid any more confrontations by the redheaded lieutenant, he left Ichigo's room. "I have no further business here anyway." He saw the sharp glare that Renji was giving him on his way out, but paid him no attention as he walked out of the lodge. <em>'What was that about?'<em>  
>"Ichigo!" Toushirou heard his lieutenant call out happily, forcing him to glare at the manipulative woman that managed to get under his skin at some point. "I want to take your picture hugging Hinamori please! Just one!" Hearing the request struck a nerve, but then heard her say. "Hinamori, give him a big kiss!"<p>

This popped a vein as he stormed over to see Momo with her arms around a sitting Ichigo, kissing his cheek merrily. Toushirou wanted to yell at Ichigo for allowing Momo to do this, to allow Rangiku to coax the fragile one into it, but saw his face. Ichigo looked like he was dead—an empty shell that was only doing what it was being told by whoever asked of him. There was something wrong about this; after hearing what Renji and Ikkaku said before he left the lodge, it made him wonder.

Rangiku then tried to flag another female over. "Kuchiki! You too! Come take a picture with Ichigo!"  
>"A-Ah… um…" She was nervous, and that caught their attention. "I… I don't really think that… uh…"<br>"It's just a picture." Ichigo stated heartlessly as he stood up. "It's not like it's going to mean anything."  
>"That's right!" The busty lieutenant agreed. "Now Ichigo, cup her cheeks like you're about to kiss her!"<br>"Whatever," he muttered before cupping Rukia's cheeks, inching forth to her lips. "Do you remember?"

After Rangiku took the picture, Rukia's eyes began to water as she shoved him away and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. It created problems as Momo charged at her, grabbing at her hair as she tackled her into the snow to beat the crap out of her. Ichigo—being the closest to the scene as it were, quickly attempted to pull Momo away from Rukia to tell her not to let a little thing worry her. Renji made it outside in time to see Rukia on the ground with her hair messed up, causing him to assume that Ichigo hurt her. This stirred up even more trouble as he came over and punched Ichigo in the face for what he had supposedly done to the fallen friend. They were about to fight in everyone's opinion, but it only took one shot to Renji's jaw with Ichigo's fist to announce who the winner was.

"Who do you think you are hitting a girl!" Renji yelled at him, holding his bruising cheek.  
>"Kurosaki-kun didn't—" Momo was interrupted when Ichigo brought his arm out in front of her.<br>"Would you like to go play, Hinamori?" Said man smiled softly, and she nodded. "Come on, let's go."  
>Watching the two leave made him even angrier. "I'm not finished with you Ichigo, come back here—"<br>"Renji," Rukia called to the redhead. "I-I slapped him…" Tears fell from her face. "H-He didn't…"  
>His gaze lowered. "Let's go somewhere else for a while to get away from Ichigo then…"<p>

There was too much going on around the resort; it was hard to keep up with.

"Taichou," Toushirou flinched when hearing Rangiku call him. "I have a better offer than last time!"  
>"Count me out, get someone else to do it." He turned to walk away, mainly to follow Ichigo and Momo.<br>"I'll _always_ do my work and not slack off if you do this!" She called in a sing-a-long voice. He twitched.  
><em>'Whatever it is, it would be perverse, stupid, and most likely involve Kurosaki Ichigo.'<em> "No, Matsumoto."  
>"Okay… fine, I'll just have Hinamori do it since she's being so clingy to him." Rangiku grinned as she—<p>

"What is it that you want me to do?" He growled angrily, not wanting to have Momo involved in her scandals. "Furthermore, why are you incapable of doing these tasks yourself instead of using me?"  
>"Because both of you need to lighten up! Ichigo has been colder than you are recently, and that's saying something!" She waved the camera. "But I would definitely need proof of you two in the act, got it?"<br>"Caught in the act?" His instincts went to the thought that he would have to have proof that he fought with Ichigo. "Fine." After he agreed, he realized it did not make sense. "What are we talking about?"  
>"Taichou, you're supposed to be the child prodigy." The lieutenant tossed the camera to him. "You have to show me proof that you got into bed with Ichigo, Silly! Otherwise I'll have to have Hinamori do it!"<p>

Out of either sheer shock, or complete dumbstruck at her stupidity, Toushirou's lips parted as he dropped the camera on his foot. This woman was out of her right mind to be asking her own superior to do something so disgusting—he would _never _sleep in the same room as him, let alone the same bed. He kicked the camera to her that she managed to catch, and he began to storm back to the lodges furiously until he remembered that last part. If he did not do what she wanted, then she would have Momo to do it in his place, what if they have sex and she gets pregnant? With as attached as she had been to Ichigo for the past three years, she would do anything to be near him, even get pregnant!

Toushirou slowly turned to the lieutenant. "I'll ask for his permission then."  
>"No, no, no! That's cheating! My Taichou isn't a cheater!" She hurried to his side.<br>"Listen here, he knew that you set me up earlier, and I kissed him on accident mind you!"  
>The woman ignored his anger. "All you have to do is warm up to him, or even suck up to him."<br>"You realize that you're telling me to do this towards Kurosaki Ichigo?" He twitched in annoyance.  
>"Well, unless you think you can dominate him?" Rangiku eyed him. "<em>Can<em> you order him around easily?"  
>"The idiot still calls me casually, does that answer your question?" All he wanted to do now, was leave.<p>

"You have two choices Taichou." She smiled happily, showing two fingers before showing only one. "You can hang around him and be a bratty Taichou like always to try getting him to submit to you." As he was about to yell at her, she brought the second finger back up. "Or, you can be nice and try to make peace."

Toushirou gave up.

"Here's what you have to do…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

**Bitter Deals**

**Now—**

"Shirou-chan!" Momo called with excitement when she saw the male tread, waving her hand up high. "I healed Kurosaki-kun's face, doesn't he look better now!" She grinned, proud of her kidou like always.  
>"A-Ah…" Said captain blinked at her agreeably, not really bothering to look up at the carrot top to see.<br>"Are you going to help us build a snowman? It'll be really fun! We never got to do this in Rukongai!" The girl was so happy that it forced a smile on anyone's face; including the icy white-haired captain, too.  
>"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Bed-Wetter Momo?" As soon as he said this, she began whining as she came over to beat on his chest without effort. <em>'You're such an idiot Hinamori.'<em>

_"My guess is, Hinamori will ask for you to join in on something that her and Ichigo will be doing. Be sure to participate without complaining! If you groan or whine about it, Ichigo might be onto you by then!"_

Her voice rang through his mind from her little plan earlier. "It can't be helped, can it?" Momo stopped hitting his chest to look at him confusedly at his words. "But only _one_ snowman, alright? I'm very busy."  
>Ichigo smirked at his unwise choice of words. "You're on vacation, Toushirou. What could you possibly have to do that would make you busy out here in the middle of nowhere? Are you that annoyed by us?"<p>

_"If Ichigo already manages to become suspicious, look him in the eye and lie to him so he doesn't know that you're really lying to him!"_

Toushirou looked him in the eye, scowling. "No, but you can never be too sure when a Hollow might appear." It was not necessarily a lie; lying causes too much trouble in most cases. "Let's get started."  
>"Yay! Shiro—I mean, Hitsugaya-kun's going to make a snowman with us!" Momo jumped in joy. "Let's hurry and make the body before it gets dark!" With that, she went to start the lower part of the body.<br>Ichigo smiled weakly before joining her. "I would say we should make our own and have a contest, but Toushirou would cheat and use his Zanpakutou." He began to help her, starting on the second half now.  
>"I don't need Hyourinmaru to kick your butt in making snowmen." However, if he made one by himself, he could not get close to Ichigo as Rangiku told him to. "However, Hinamori wants us to work together."<br>"We haven't had much teamwork in awhile." The carrot top sounded almost guilty at the statement, and it had the captain look at him. "Anyway, let's do what Hinamori wants, like you said. Right, Hinamori?"  
>"Yup!" She smiled, already patting down the middle as Ichigo placed the head on top. "This snowman is the height as Shirou-chan!" Momo giggled happily. "Kurosaki-kun, can you give it his hair please!"<p>

Said male sighed softly before grabbing a heap of snow to place on top of the snowman's head in order to make a few pointy ends here and there. Momo laughed at his poor excuse of a snowman Hitsugaya so badly that she fell down to hold her sides as she cried in laughter. It struck a nerve for Ichigo, so he rose his hand up to manipulate the soul in the ice to make it almost identical to Toushirou's hair. The two stared in surprise to see him do such a thing with his bare hand, and they saw him glare at the ground for a moment. Ichigo did not seem pleased about something for whatever reason, and this worried Momo who got up to hold his arm in concern.

"Is something wrong, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo slowly looked at her, "no," he gave a fake smile to fool her. "Hitsugaya-Snowman needs some eyes and a mouth right? Should they be rocks or ice?" She chose the latter, and he formed ice rocks.  
>"Wow Kurosaki-kun, is your Zanpakutou as ice type too?" The female was in awe at his manipulating.<br>"Eh?" He looked to the ice in his hand, "oh… no, I take the soul out of the air and vapor water to form the ice." Ichigo placed the snowman's face on. "There, do you think he's ready to lead Squad Snow?"  
>As much as Toushirou hated it, he spoke. "I would prefer arms." They looked at him curiously before Ichigo made some ice for stick-figured arms. "I suppose a scarf too." He placed it on the look alike.<br>"Dummy, it's just a snowman." Ichigo pulled off his scarf as he walked over to the captain. "We wouldn't want the real Toushirou to get sick." He wrapped the scarf around his neck to be snug fit for him.

Maybe it was because the air managed to freeze him for the moment, but Toushirou blushed as he rose the scarf up to hide his mouth. "Thank you," he mumbled with his eyes averted. The scarf was nice and warm, it was even softer than the one he had, but now he knew what Ichigo smelt like unfortunately.

"You're welcome." Ichigo smiled lightly before looking at the two equally. "How about hot chocolate?"

"Yes please!" Momo cheered, latching on to his left hand. "I heard that this world makes it best!"  
>He laughed softly at her before looking over at the captain. "Toushirou, you're coming too."<br>Said male looked at him confusedly, watching him offer a hand. "I… I don't need your hand, Idiot."  
>The carrot top looked a little hurt. "Sorry…" With that, he took a step with Momo, and waited for him.<p>

_"If he gives you an offer to touch him, take it! He's probably only being nice for Hinamori's sake anyway!"_

_'For Hinamori's sake,'_ Toushirou reminded himself before catching up to the two. _'For Hinamori's sake…'_  
>"Shirou-chan, Kurosaki-kun gave you his scarf! He could get a cold! You should hold his hand, like this!" She showed her fingers laced with Ichigo's left hand. "It's the least that you can do for being a Meanie!"<br>As many times as his right eye twitched at her demands, he scoffed as he threw his nose in the other direction. "I only have to until we get to the lodge, right?" She nodded happily. "Fine, but it's the only—"  
>"It's the only time, we know." The other two said in unison, allowing Momo to giggle even more now.<p>

Toushirou wanted to attack them, but before he could understand what was going on, he found his hand being entwined by a warm callused hand. His face buried more beneath the scarf as the blood rushed to his face with disappointment for having to do this for Momo's sake. He did not want to get so close to Ichigo, he did not want to be near him at all, yet he had to sleep in the same bed as him. The captain felt him release his hand to walk about a foot in front of them, and he saw Ikkaku walking over.

"Renji tried to pick a fight with Hitsugaya-Taichou after you walked out, I don't know why though." The shaved headed male stated firmly. "Bits and pieces made it sound like they were talking about _that_."  
>"Toushirou doesn't know anything about it though, no one but a handful at least." Ichigo stated angrily.<br>"Maybe it's about time you talked to Renji and Rukia-chan about it before someone gets hurt," he saw him look away. "Meaning _you_ mostly." Ichigo looked at him. "I'm on your side on this one, you know it."  
>"I'll manage things somehow, but tonight, I want to be alone for once." He sighed. "My head hurts."<p>

After Ichigo left, Ikkaku muttered to himself. "Just don't kill someone in your sleep…"

Toushirou eyed him suspiciously.

* * *

><p>It was late, it was a little over midnight when Toushirou had decided to leave the lobby from the lodge for the male group of the vacationers. He had been reading a book all day to recover from the long trip once having a hot chocolate with Ichigo and Momo in the main lobby. There were loud noises in Ichigo's room as he reached the doorknob of his own accommodations, and wondered what he was doing. His instincts told him not to go in because something about it made the hairs on the back of his neck stick up, but he did anyway. Knocking on the door quietly, he entered the room to see the covers kicked off the bed with the man sprawled out in his boxers. Toushirou rolled his eyes before starting to turn away, but Ichigo shook and jerk fiercely in his sleep as if he were having bad dreams.<p>

_'Hinamori would be upset if I let him stay like this…'_

He looked around to find a way to wake him with without being attacked liked the pillows and fallen covers on the ground. What was he supposed to do, sleep in bed next to him and be his teddy bear or something else similar to that? The thought occurred to him, with Ichigo asleep in bed—finally settling down again, he could take a picture of them with the camera and be over with it! His hand fished out the came to set on the desk across the room in front of the bed, and set it on a ten-second timer.

_'I can't believe I remember how to use it.'_ He then thought again. _'I can't believe I'm doing this either.'_

Toushirou came over to the man's right side, sitting on the bed carefully, and placing an arm on the other side of Ichigo to bear his weight. The flash went off by accident, and Ichigo sat up immediately—crashing his skull against Toushirou's, both in dire pain now. Ichigo held his head growling before looking over to see who the Hell would come into his room so late at night, only to see the captain.

"What are you doing in here? Do you know what could have happened!" The carrot top's fury had only made the other just as angry. "I could have done serious damage to you—I could have killed you!"  
>"Well you did not, thankfully." Good, so far, the camera was not noticed. "It's not my fault that I was concerned about all the noise you were making in here. I came to ask if everything was alright!"<p>

"I—!" He stopped, bit his tongue, turned, and lied down on his side. "Sorry. Goodnight."  
>The immediate defeat startled the captain. "That doesn't answer my question, Kurosaki."<br>"You don't have to be friendly with me, Toushirou, Hinamori isn't around to supervise us."  
>It hurt to hear him say this. "She would be disappointed otherwise." He left the bed slowly.<p>

"My issues don't involve Taichou," Ichigo whispered under his breath. "They involve friends…"

Although he knew what he meant, he wished that he misunderstood the words; that he did not need him as a friend instead of a captain. Nevertheless, he picked up the covers to place back over the man on the bed because he was freezing with little clothing. Ichigo's tired brown hues looked at uncaring large turquoise hues, yet Toushirou could see it, there was more hurt than there was tire in his eyes. It was a mystery as to why he had been looking dead ever since they had arrived to the human world to see him, to go on the trip with him. Things were heated between Ichigo and Renji—he was assured this when the two attacked each other earlier, however, Renji was protecting him too?

"Whatever it is," Toushirou started slowly. Debating whether he should tell him to speak about it or tell him that there was nothing to worry about. "You can talk to someone about it." Ah, he screwed up now.  
>"I can talk to someone other than Hinamori, right?" He watched the other falter in a guilty manner to this. "About her," his body slowly lied on its back, "she was scared to come to you, and you know why."<br>This was a stab to the heart, he was immediately back to his defensive self. "I didn't know, we were under Aizen illusion. You know—_she_ knows that I would never harm her on purpose Kurosaki! I—"  
>"We know that, I made sure that she understood this, too." Slowly, he got up and leaned against the headboard. "Physically, she's fine now. Mentally, she's still scarred." Ichigo frowned. "You are, too."<p>

The captain took a step back to avoid this. "I don't know what you're talking about—"  
>"Don't lie to me. Lying is betrayal, and look what happened with Aizen, remember?"<br>He looked down in guilt. "I didn't come here to be judged." He bowed before turning.

"You know I'm not judging you." Brown hues watched him stop in place. "What I want to say, is that Hinamori is doing her best to heal and move on. But you're letting your fears and anguish block that healing process for yourself." Toushirou turned to glare and yell, yet Ichigo continued. "What I mean is," he started, and the captain waited a little longer to hear him out. "People get hurt, that's life. However, it's your choice whether you want to move on from this event like you had with the last painful one."

Hearing him say this, he was now interested. "What are you talking about?"  
>"Point is, Hinamori is alive." Ichigo smiled. "Make the best with what you have."<br>Brows knitted in confusion, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Hn…"  
>"Night, Toushirou." He lowered himself back to his bed. "Lock the door too, please."<br>The captain snapped out of it. "A-Ah." He grabbed the camera. "Goodnight Kurosaki."

Once he heard the door clothes, Ichigo smirked tiredly. _'Did he actually say it back before he left?' _He then heard a faint slap; Toushirou hitting his head mostly likely. Making him grin, _'yeah… he said it.'_

Now that he was awakened by the captain, he was not going to be able to go back to sleep any time soon with his mind fully aware of his surroundings. Angry that he could not get the full night of sleep that he wanted, he got out of bed to get dressed for the early day, and went to the lobby to train. The others were mostly asleep, but he could sense three that were awake—one of them was going to bed now as he stared at the fire in the fireplace. A moment later did he actually begin to work with his feet and hand movements, it looked as if he was doing martial arts.

He sensed someone behind him, and threw a punch at the male, who caught it.

"I'm sorry about punching you," Renji whispered in guilt. "I'm sorry… about everything."  
>"Are you going to whine, or are you going to train with me?" He asked without emotion.<br>The redhead smiled weakly at this as he threw a punch. "Yeah… I think I'll train with ya."

Ikkaku watched the two exchange blows without having to be aggressive about it, and so he turned away and walked back to his room. It was obvious that Ichigo was going to wake up with someone's help—although he did not think it would be the captain to wake him. Either way, Ichigo managed to get up to vent his frustration out through his training, and Renji decided to be his pound of flesh. With the two impulsive males working out their anger at one another, there was nothing else that any could do.

_'While they can.'_ Ikkaku thought.

* * *

><p>"Here," Toushirou gave the woman her camera. "Now don't bother me anymore."<p>

After giving her the camera, he stormed off to have his breakfast with the others that he was somewhat comfortable being around. She looked at the picture to see her captain towering over Ichigo on the bed, but her head shook in disapproval since her captain mistook the deal. Rangiku decided that she would have to confront him sometime later in the day where there were less people to listen to them. There was something different treading through the cafeteria where everyone was eating their breakfast.

"Kurosaki-kun, aren't you going to eat?" Momo asked worriedly.  
>Said male looked at her, smiling. "I'm not very hungry, that's all."<br>"Eat your breakfast Kurosaki," one with glasses glared. "Or else."  
>He glared at the male. "Why are you even here Ishida? You <em>hate<em> me."  
>"Someone has to be prepared to work, we're both becoming doctors."<p>

"Just because we go to the same university, have the same classes, does not mean I need a babysitter if something happens. I can manage everything here by myself." Ichigo grabbed an apple. "If anything, I should be watching after you. You were the one who suffered damages three years ago, remember?"

Angry, Ishida Uryuu slammed his hands on the table. "Don't act as if you—" He clenched his teeth.  
>"I grabbed an apple, can I leave now, <em>Sensei<em>?"The carrot top left his seat. "I'm going on a walk."  
>The thought of him going alone irked them. Momo jumped at a thought. "I'll come with you—"<br>"No," Ichigo interrupted quickly, almost startling the female—and everyone else. "Stay here."  
>"Kurosaki, you need <em>someone<em> to go with you." Uryuu stated firmly. "Let her go with you."  
>"I'll go…" Rukia slowly stood up. "I know that I'm not your favorite person, but at least I—"<br>"_No_." The carrot top glared before turning around, leaving the cafeteria without looking back.  
>Uryuu thought on things a little. "Well… so long as he doesn't fight, we shouldn't have to worry."<p>

Renji and Ikkaku exchanged glances worriedly. The former spoke. "What if he trains?"

"Any harsh hit will be a problem. He should be sleeping after the long trip, but something tells me that he's over exerting himself." He stated before taking a bite of his meal. "I'll call Inoue-san and ask her to make a quick trip here." Aggressively, he pointed his chopsticks at him after eating the bite of food. "You and Kuchiki-san, back off." He took another bite mumbling. "He needs all the support he can get now…"

"What he _needs_ is a partner that won't betray him." Ikkaku called out, scolding Renji and Rukia also.  
>Momo perked with interest. "You mean like a girlfriend? I can do that. I'm really close to Kurosaki-kun!"<br>The group somewhat cringed at the thought as Rangiku waved a hand at her. "Don't be silly Hinamori!"  
>"The only way you can be his girlfriend, is if you were as stable as Hitsugaya-Taichou." Renji snorted.<br>"I wouldn't say that." Shuuhei frowned. "I don't know what's going on, but he needs to loosen up a bit."  
>"The bar in the back is open tonight!" The busty one cheered. "I'll have a drink with Ichigo tonight—"<p>

"No!" Everyone at the table yelled at her.

"None of us are even qualified to be at his side… after everything he's done for us, and what we can't do for him." Uryuu stated in a slightly depressed tone, flipping a piece of his food. "Abarai and Kuchiki-san betray his trust, so they can't help. Hinamori-san is too energetic. Matsumoto-san is too…" he paused to think of an appropriate word. "Lively. Madarame can manage being around him, but things can become too rowdy, and then Ayasegawa would pitch in." He tried to think things through a little. "Hisagi has never really got to know Kurosaki like the rest of us. And if Kurosaki says the wrong thing to Hitsugaya-kun, it can stir a problem." His placed his chopsticks down. "I'm in no position to be talking to him, too."

"Out of all our negative comments, it sounds like Hitsugaya-Taichou has the better chance at giving Ichigo support for whatever, right?" Rangiku smiled happily. "Taichou just has to make sure to keep a cool head no matter what Ichigo says or does to him, right?" She looked to the captain as her smile widened. "It's been decided! Taichou, from now on, you're our representative to support Ichigo!"

"I don't want anything to do with that man." Toushirou glared bitterly at her.  
>"Please Shirou-chan?" Momo frowned at him. He twitched. "I'm really worried!"<br>"Then you be the representative." The captain stood up. "Thank you for the meal."  
>Ikkaku then pondered at something. "Didn't Ichigo make breakfast this morning for us?"<br>"Oh… yeah, you can tell by the taste in the eggs when he adds that cheese to it." Renji replied.  
>Toushirou growled. "Be that as it may, I will not trouble myself in Kurosaki's troubles."<br>"Didn't he trouble himself with _your_ troubles, Hitsugaya-Taichou?" Rukia frowned.  
>"In which case, I did not ask or tell him to get himself involved in, Kuchiki Rukia."<br>"But he did place himself in a lot of trouble for you when no one else did…"

"He got himself involved at his own risk, I will not be held accountable for his actions." With that, he tossed the tray, and left the cafeteria. _'Did they ever think leaving Kurosaki alone could help him?'_

Although he thought this to himself, he found himself staring at the bright orange-haired man that was leaning against the main lodge. Ichigo was trying to walk by using the wall as his crutch, trying to reach the boy's lodge in a ridiculously slow manner that was unlike him. He then vanished from his sight—most likely, he had caught onto him standing behind him to see him in his moment of pain.

"Taichou!"

Toushirou immediately turned around to look at the woman that startled him without her knowing. "If it involves Kurosaki Ichigo, then I don't want to hear it." He started to walk around her to go for a walk.

"I said I would need proof of you two in the act, I didn't mean you on his bed." Rangiku grabbed his hands and placed the camera on his palms. "It meant that you have to sleep _with_ him. As in having sex with him." The captain glared furiously at her. "Hey—you heard Hinamori, she's more than willing!"

"I will not succumb myself to do such vulgar actions with that imbecile." He threw the camera at her.  
>"So you would rather have Hinamori the chance to get pregnant?" When she said this, he froze. "I mean, I know Ichigo would be a good daddy, but would that make you his uncle since you're close to Hina—"<br>"Just answer me this." Toushirou looked at her fiercely for all her blackmailing. "Why choose me?"

He saw her shed a tear. "…because right now, you're the only one who can help him."

* * *

><p>AN: I have a lot of stories to catch up on right now, so I don't know when the next update will be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

**Bitter Deals**

**Now—**

_"Taichou, you're probably the only one that he fully trusts right now."_

He had been thinking on these words for the past week since they had arrived to the resort, but would not believe in these words. Every time he saw the man, he was full of energy and doing everything in his power to keep Momo as happy as ever. Right now, she excused herself to use the restroom, allowing the captain to watch him walk away from where they were playing. Toushirou would be damned if he would let this man stand her up just because she went to use the facilities for a brief moment.

"Kurosaki, you—"

Ichigo turned to look at him tiredly as he was trying to wipe the blood off his lips, it was not enough as he spat some blood into the snow and covered it with white snow. There was blood all over his arm and sleeve; there was so much that the captain could not be able to believe what he was seeing. They heard Momo coming around the corning, and they stared at one another before Ichigo vanished quickly.

"Kuro—oh, Shirou-chan!" Momo smiled. "Where's Kurosaki-kun?"  
>The captain looked to the ground. "He's not feeling well, Hinamori."<br>"Huh? But he was fine just a moment ago!" She crossed her arms.

_'He pretends to be okay when you're around.'_ He finally realized. "I'll go see what is bothering him, but he may be too ill to answer." It pained him to see that this made her happy again, so he left to find out. _'If I were Kurosaki, bleeding to death, where would I be?'_ Sadly, he could not sense him, no one could. It made him go for the one location that he could think of, and went into the lodge to knock on his door. "Kurosaki?" Carefully, he opened the door… and there he was, sitting on the bed, drinking straight up.

The man looked at him, his face cleaned from blood that Toushirou had seen earlier. "Hn?"  
>"First you're bleeding, and now your drinking?" He came over and snatched the horrid alcohol.<br>"I'm legal, thanks." Ichigo reached for the bottle, but then held his head. "Give it back Toushirou."  
>His eyes scowled even more so. "I think you've had more than enough." He set it over on the desk.<p>

"It's the only way to dull the pain, now give it back!" Ichigo stood up firmly, but fell back against the bed.  
>"Kurosaki, what the Hell is the matter with you!" He came over, checking his head. "You're burning up!"<br>"Just… give me the bottle back, _Hitsugaya-Taichou_." The man panted heavily in pain. "I'm already dead."  
>His brows knitted in confusion now. "What are you talking about? You're still a human, so you're alive."<br>"I called you by your damn title, you gonna give me that bottle or not! I'm tired of all of you damn it!"

Toushirou looked over his shoulder at the bottle of alcohol before looking at the collapsed man while trying to figure out what was with him. Not long ago, everyone was concerned about Ichigo; trying to find someone that would not stir Ichigo to over exert himself, he understood that. However, Ichigo was acting as if he were mentally ill, but his body looked a little thinner… he looked… different. Ichigo raised a hand up to his face, hiding his eyes as sorrowful tears slowly began to fall from his shut eyelids.

"…you can leave…"

Although hearing this made him grateful, there was something wrong. "I'm not going anywhere." He wanted to leave and pretend as if nothing happened. "You were there when I needed someone at my side. It's only natural that I return the favor." Toushirou had to admit deep down inside that he was worried; never had he heard of Kurosaki Ichigo crying. "Is Hinamori becoming too much trouble?"

"Ah…" He whispered. "But she's a good girl… she… means well…" Ichigo sighed. "Damn Rukia…"  
>"Kuchiki Rukia?" The captain puzzled. "Ishida has told her and Abarai to keep their distance from you."<br>His body slowly got up, looking at him with drying tired eyes. "How far did you go with that Kusaka guy?"  
>Turquoise hues widened. "W-What?" Hopefully he did not hear him right. "What did you just ask me?"<br>"Don't play stupid, did you kiss, touch, have sex, been out on a date?" He asked. "And don't lie, please."  
>Toushirou opened his mouth, closed it to think, and answered. "We touched very little, that's all."<p>

"You two didn't kiss?" Watching him slowly shake his head, he reached over and rustled his hair. "You're so lucky, Toushirou. Love is a bastard." He smiled softly. "They end up going with someone else, always."  
>Things started to make sense now… slowly but surely. "You were involved with Kuchiki I'm assuming?"<br>"Ah…" His gaze lowered. "And Renji snatched her right out from under me. Because I'm just a _kid_."  
>"You're no kid, Kurosaki. If this is what's bothering you, then you're stupid than I thought you were." He earned the man's attention. "You are Kurosaki Ichigo, and nothing puts you down, not even a woman!"<p>

"You, Toushirou," Ichigo brought his hands up to said captain's face. "Are young and naïve."  
>"K-Kurosaki, don't touch me." Though he said it, he did not move away. "You're drunk."<br>He placed his forehead against him. "Why did you have to be tainted in all this mess?"  
>"Kurosaki, you're drunk, and you have a fever… you should really get some rest."<br>"Not yet." Toushirou cringed at his breath. "So, you're homosexual, Toushirou?"  
>"That's none of your business Kurosaki." If he kept talking like this though…<p>

"I'm not judging you, it sounds nice. Not have to worry about a woman getting pregnant or anything." His head slipped and fell to the captain's shoulder. "I knew you were a virgin, but that means I stole your first kiss last week, accident or not." He lifted his head up to see his face turn red. "You should leave. I'm so drunk that you're cute." His hands left the captain's face. "I might sleep with you if you don't."

Toushirou could not hold down any liquor—the very smell off Ichigo's breath was too much for his still-growing body. Even though the words he heard were disrespectful and vulgar, he could feel himself wanting to taste the once bloody lips. Could he really do such a thing… could he really correct his lousy mistake with Kusaka Soujirou by kissing this man properly? Ichigo watched as he struggled upon if he really wanted to leave to avoid confrontation, or face what would come his way.

The captain felt the strain in his pants as he was intoxicated by the alcohol that made him believe that the carrot top smelt good. It was too late, captain or not, there was nothing he could do about the buzz from the poisonous drink that this idiot drank too much of. He placed his hands on Ichigo's shoulders as a sign of giving in to him, earning a very drunken-sly grin from his soon-to-be partner. A pair of strong, callused hands returned to his body to place on his small petite hips that caused him to blush quickly.

"Are you alright with a one night stand, Toushirou?" Ichigo pulled him closer, whispering hotly in his ear. "Do you trust me enough with everything about you?" His face dipped into the crook of his neck slowly.  
>"I-I—" He lost his voice at the kisses against his neck. The answer seemed to be important as Ichigo had pulled away to hear him out. "I have… never, before." The captain blushed more. "But… I trust you…"<br>Lips curved into a smile before reaching into the other's pocket, grabbing the camera. "Would you like to give Rangiku-san something to really drool over?" He was looked at helplessly. "Just a simple kiss is all."

All that Toushirou could understand was 'kiss,' and he placed his lips against the other's while being taught how to battle for dominance. Their tongues danced outside of their mouths briefly, and the flash of light from the camera, which did not faze the captain. The distraction of working the camera allowed him to place little dominance against the taller male who took a few more pictures without flashes. It brought something to Toushirou's mind that caused him to pull away guiltily, unwilling to go any further.

"Kurosaki…" he panted, looking up at him unhappily. "Matsumoto… told me… to… sleep with… you…" Toushirou looked over at the camera. "She… wanted… proof…" His eyes looked to him apologetically. "If… I don't… she'll… have… Hinamori… do it… with you…" The captain saw the other smile softly.

"I know," Ichigo replied. "Well, I had a feeling that was why you pretended to care that night in here."  
>"I didn't pretend…" He began to catch his breath. "Are you… mad now?" Though he knew the answer—<br>"No," the carrot top changed the setting on the camera. "Because you told me before it happened."  
>Toushirou somewhat pouted at this. "You're stupider… than I ever thought you were… Kurosaki."<p>

As much as he wanted to fight that battle, he pushed it away. "Do you want me to record us having sex? All I have to do is push this button." Toushirou was obviously worried about it, but shakily nodded in agreement. Ichigo pushed the button and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. "Are you okay with me seeing this side of you?" The captain nodded in embarrassment. "Do you want to be on top then—"

Toushirou shoved the orange-haired male's face away, blushing. "Don't ask such perverted things!"

The other chuckled softly, still sitting at the side of the bed. "You're adorable." Toushirou's face cringed at the lustful words as he stood there, taking it in. "Fine, I understand." Turquoise hues looked at him. "I will be as gentle as possible with you." He motioned him back a little in order to get off the bed to stand on his knees on the ground. His warm hands sneakily crawled under his upper clothing layers. "Okay?"

"K-Ku—" his two shirts and long-sleeved sweater were removed slowly with precision. "…Kurosaki…"

"We can stop whenever you want." The offer was declined. "Then be a good boy for me." Ichigo placed his lips against his before trailing his jaw, his throat, his chest, and all the way down to his naval where slim fingers grasped orange strands of head-hair. "Are we excited here?" He knew of the indescribable sensation in that particular location, and he decided to continue the torture by licking around it.

Toushirou's body could not withstand the tingling feeling that went through his lower abdomen, and he began leaning over Ichigo's head, holding tight. He clung to him with one hand now so that he would be able to subside the loud moans that threatened to be heard—and eventually they were. His body was being treated like never before; the touches were foreign, the sensation was new, and it was pleasant. The captain squeaked an unforgivable moan as Ichigo decided to dive into his naval; he _wanted_ to hear him moan, and Heaven forbid if he did not give it to him.

"You're pretty hard from that, aren't you?"

"S-Shut…ah…u—up…"

"Cute…"

Fingertips carefully unbuttoned the jeans, slowly sliding them down without having the need to unzip the rest of it. Chocolate brown hues were staring softly into the nervous pair of turquoise hues to ask whether there was enough trust for him to look down. Toushirou was fully naked and in his view up front, and he waited to hear snickers of his feminine body or the size of his childish penis. There was a gently hum, though, that caught his attention enough to look down at the man who looked up at him.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded dumbly. There was no justified answer to give him before he slid his rough hands up his legs to his assumed-to-be favorite perch on his hips. Ichigo said something that the captain could not fully hear well, but his body shuttered when a hand caressed upward against his small amount of pubic hair. His knees buckled together as his hands pressed down on Ichigo's shoulders to keep himself standing while he continued to be petted. Toushirou grunted and whimpered in pleasure, trying to hold back any primal instincts that were trying to appear at this moment. What in the world, did he get himself into?

"It's a compliment to hear your partners cry of joy." Ichigo sounded all too happy. "No one is here."

"N-N—No… a-ah…"

The taunting caress through his public hair finally stopped to allow him to breathe for the moment, but then two fingers in the position of a pair of scissors went around his fully erected penis as if it were a cigarette. It was a test to see how sensitive his was, which Ichigo learned that he was _very_ sensitive due to the alcohol, lack of attention, and no sex. Toushirou watched for any signs of laughter or ridicule for being too easy to receive a reaction out of when he was known as the icy captain. However, it was quite the opposite; Ichigo was not poking any fun to hurt his feelings… he was being very well behaved.

"Ku—ro—"

"Who would have guessed you to be shy?" Ichigo stood up slowly, pulling off his shirt almost teasingly for the captain. "Here, you can wear this." He placed the t-shirt on him carefully, watching it drape all the way down to his knees as a nightgown would. "How about you get up on the bed, I'm a little weak."

He heard what he said, he understood that the blood loss made him a little weak, and the drinking did not help anything either. However, he was focused on how much weight that Ichigo had lost since he had last seen his chest almost five years ago. It looked as if he was he was losing muscle, too, and this made Toushirou bring a hand out to touch his torso to check on him. His hand was grabbed gently, coaxing him over to the bed where he found himself lying on the covers before he knew it.

"I know I'm a bad sight, sorry." Ichigo paused the camera, adjusting the angle to the bed, and played it.  
>"I'm not one… to judge…" He himself was too slender for his own good. "But… are you alright Kurosaki?"<br>The Strawberry smiled weakly. _'Zero alcohol tolerance.'_ He answered. "I said I won't be living long here."  
>These words, alarmed him. "What are you… talking about? You are… too stubborn to—" he was kissed.<br>"You talk too much." Ichigo got up on the bed over him carefully. "Are you sure you won't regret this?"  
>"I'm drunk off the alcohol on your breath…" His cheeks reddened at this. "Yes or no, I don't know…"<p>

"You've _never_ been spoiled, huh?" He motioned him to lie down, and it was obeyed. "Seeing you blush is cuter than when you get angry, no surprise there." His nose brushed the shirt up to see the hard erection, and his hand came over to caress the pubic hairs again. "Are you alright with this, Toushirou?"  
>"D-Don't—" his back arched. Hands tried to cover the area with the shirt. "S-Stop p-playing—t-there!"<br>"You're very shy, huh? Okay… okay…" Ichigo shifted the shirt up past his chest. "I'll be a little nicer." He carefully placed his weight on his elbows and knees, kissing the captain's chest. "I'm disappointed in you though, what is Rangiku-san threatening you with?" His tongue lapsed over the right hardening nipple.  
>"I-If I didn't… she… would get… Hinamori… to do it…" Suddenly, all the attention stopped right then.<br>"Even if she was told to sleep with me, that doesn't mean I would go along with it." Ichigo frowned at him for this. "It makes no difference to me whether you trust in Hinamori to make a foolish mistake. But to hear that you have that little trust in me to be wary of Hinamori? What am I supposed to feel then?"  
>Eyes closed guiltily. "You're too close… to Hinamori…" His body was warm; he wanted to be touched.<p>

"Do you think that I would betray you like that?"

Hearing him ask this was a sharp pain to his heart. He already knew that Ichigo would never betray his friends, or even try to let them down, no matter what the situation was. Yet he knew that Ichigo would never do this to him, why did he question him to be some vulgar man that would get Momo pregnant. A moist feeling came to his eyes, and he lifted a hand to check his face… he was crying from some reason.

"Toushirou," said captain looked at the man who showed no sign of anger, "do you want to continue?" There was nothing pointing to him about being mad, and so the tears continued. "Are you a crybaby when you're drunk?" He watched him become a little fierce. "So you don't want to keep it going now?"

"B-Bastard…" he shifted the shirt to hide his face. "J-Just get on with it!"

Ichigo smiled at how innocent he could be, even when he is drunk.

* * *

><p>It was late in the night, the clock said that it was a little past midnight.<p>

His head hurt like crazy, and there was nothing that could cure the poor excuse of a hangover that he received from Ichigo. Things slowly became a little more focused when he began to remember that Ichigo was drunk—though he was surprisingly sober. He looked over to see the carrot top sitting up with his pants on, and the night flew through his mind like a bad dream, a nightmare even. Not able to think of what happened, he quickly got himself dressed and ready to act as if nothing happened earlier.

"You could have woken me, Kurosaki." He fixed his pants. "Now it will be suspicious that neither of us were present all day after breakfast." He placed his shirt on. "I told Hinamori you were sick, so you were in here lying down, and I was trying to find a way to communicate with Soul Society." Toushirou was trying to make sure their story was fixed, but Ichigo said nothing. "Kurosaki, did you hear me? I said—"

"I heard you," the carrot top said in a quiet manner before standing up slowly.

"Well you could have answered me earlier instead of sitting there like a zombie." Toushirou took the camera to shove in his pocket. "You know Kurosaki, you should really put a shirt on. For whatever reason, you looked a lot stronger a few years ago after you took care of Aizen for all of us—" there was a loud thud behind him, causing him to growl, and turned to complain. "At least listen, Ku—Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's body had fallen on the ground faced forward.

"Kurosaki," he came over to check on him, slightly shaking him. "Kurosaki, this isn't funny." There was nothing that was stirring him awake; was this what he had meant? "Kurosaki, wake up you bastard!"

Except… Ichigo was not waking.

Male Shinigami officers, plus Uryuu, came running into the room once Renji broke down the door without even trying to use the doorknob. The doctor-in-training had rushed in to take his pulse that was dramatically low, and immediately told Shuuhei to tell the professors. Something was not right about this, yet a few Shinigami dressed him properly and carried him out with no time to spare. An ambulance was there in wait—as if waiting for something like this to happen, and they drove off for the hospital.

The Shinigami had to stay behind, a professor and Uryuu went along for the ride.

"Damn it." Renji growled. "We should have forced him to get a check-up the other day, but Inoue said that he'd be fine!" He yelled as they stood in the lobby, kicking the couch over. "I should have checked on him and made sure that he took his medication! He could have been drinking or exerting himself!"

"There was nothing that you could do, he had chronic leukemia since he regained his Shinigami powers. But the crap that you pulled with his ex-girlfriend, didn't help." With that, he looked to the others. "I'll go tell the girls. See if we can get a ride over there in one of those vans in the back parking lot."

Toushirou could not believe it. _'Kurosaki… has… cancer?'_

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT:<strong> Okay, so you can't really expect me to update any time soon. I am moving in 20 days, 1300 miles (2093 kilometers) away from where I'm currently living. It'll be a while for me to get back on my game!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: In all honesty, the Bleach fanfics that are posted, are updated based on two things:

1) Available chapters. I have 1000+ fanfics, 200+ are Bleach (97% are IchiHitsu)  
>2) Reviews; the more reviews, the more I feel like it should be updated.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 04<strong>

**Bitter Deals**

**Now—**

"Well, nothing has changed from what I can see in these files that were brought here." The doctor stated to the large group waiting in the hallway outside Ichigo's room. "Kurosaki _still_ needs a donor."

Everyone was disappointed to hear this, but there were some that were still confused about the things that they were talking about. It seemed that Ikkaku, Renji, and Rukia were aware of the cancer that was taking over this Strawberry's life for the past couple of years. The doctor looked at them unhappily as he had to ask the question that everyone knew he had to confirm every single time.

"Have you all been tested for your friend?"

"I want to be tested, but…" Momo looked over at other Shinigami. "Are we allowed to?"  
>"There are two possible donors in this hallway." A voice called out cheerfully. Everyone looked.<br>"Urahara-san…" Renji called in surprise to see the man. "I suppose you heard the news then?"  
>"Never mind that," Uryuu glared. "Who are the two that are capable of saving Kurosaki's life!"<p>

Urahara Kisuke brought a hand out towards the two. "Naturally, I take care of bodies, and I tested all of you before you left for the trip. Hinamori-Fukutaichou is a partial match, but Hitsugaya-Taichou is a complete match surprisingly enough." He then settled his hand down. "It didn't make sense when Kurosaki-san asked me not to take blood samples, but I didn't listen, and two candidates appear!"

"I can start chemotherapy with him immediately while testing the two possible donors, with their consent." The doctor stated, glancing over to the two. "Will you be willing to go through some tests?"  
>"Yes, we are!" Momo quickly turned to Toushirou, shaking his arm. "You're going to do the tests too!"<br>"It's perfectly safe in your bodies. Their molded to be as if it were your own. So your blood will be legit."  
>Toushirou took a step back, glaring at them. "I'll go along with these tests. But I have some questions."<br>"Yes, of course. What would you like to know?" The doctor was ready to answer any of his questions.  
>"No, not about the tests." He turned to the others. "Some of you knew about his condition. How? Why?"<p>

Rukia frowned as Renji held her in his arms. "I found out that he had leukemia and told Renji, Ichigo was angry about it. I offered to be tested, but he did not want anything from me after we broke up earlier."  
>"I was fighting with Ichigo in the barracks and Ikkaku-san over heard the argument." Renji added quietly.<br>"Ichigo's the only one who can tell anyone." Ikkaku grumbled as he looked at everyone. "Ichigo has his own reasons to keep things to himself." He looked to the captain. "He has to protect himself, too."

"That doesn't give me the answer that I want." Toushirou looked to the doctor. "I want to talk to him."  
>"I'm afraid that's not possible, he's unconscious right now." The doctor bowed. "But he <em>needs<em> help."  
>He tried to think about the entire thing before feeling Momo's gaze on him. "Hurry up and test us."<br>"Thank you Hitsugaya-kun!" Momo embraced him happily before turning to the man. "We're ready!"

"Yes… right this way." The doctor escorted them. "His therapy will take three days."

"I'll go too, I'm their doctor and guardian in Karakura Town!" Kisuke smiled as he joined the two.

Who else would be able to explain the lack of their medical records.

After testing, it was true that they were both matches for Ichigo, but the captain would be the safer donor for the man. Things were going too fast that he left the hospital to breathe as he sat on the rim of a water fountain that was frozen over. He was very confused right now since he felt betrayed that Ichigo did not tell him that he was in seriously poor conditions. There were many clues that he did not bother to put together because Ichigo was Ichigo; he made it seem like nothing to worry about. Why should he have to help someone that would not fully trust him, why should he put his neck on the line for Ichigo?

With that thought, he brought the camera out. _'Why should I help you…'_ He went to the last clip, and became confused when finding himself sleeping, whereas Ichigo held the camera, talking to it.

_"It doesn't matter who sees this clip, but it will probably be Toushirou. I have a rare case of leukemia, I have been on the verge of the cancer for some time now, but only acted up last month."_ Ichigo stopped to watch Toushirou stir under the covers, but settled down slowly to return to sleep. _"Keeping it from Hinamori has been getting harder, so I'll be going to the hospital tonight… assuming I'll make it there—"_

The clip stopped there, and Toushirou looked at the time. "That was right before I woke…"

He went backwards to the clip before that, and watched as Ichigo tease him on the bed with touches—he sped the clip up for a while until they were both on the bed, collapsed. _"Toushirou."_ Ichigo panted weakly, but Toushirou knew that he was passed out after their event together. _"Would it be cruel to tell you in your sleep, that I really admire you?"_ Toushirou pulled the camera away from his face, confused. _"You're strong and soft, you're firm but gentle, and I bet that you don't even know it."_ The man pulled the white bangs from the sleepers face before leaning over and turning off the camera for the night.

Toushirou turned off the camera, sighing. "…you bastard." Why did he say such things?

"…Taichou?" Rangiku called out softly; worried about the captain.  
>He hid the camera in his pocket. "This is your fault." He mumbled.<br>Her head cocked to the side for being accused. "What did I do?"

Toushirou did not answer her as he hugged one knee to his chest in order to bury his face into his arms as he thought deeply. As he took in a deep breath, he could smell Ichigo all over his clothing since he did not have the chance to change before coming to the hospital. It was two in the morning, he was tired, sore, and unbelievably hungry, yet he ignored everything as he tried to think things through. Ichigo's words on the camera affected him too much to be ignored; they sleep together once, and this happens.

"I open up to someone, and this happens." His muttered under his breath, staring at the frozen fountain.  
>"Open up…?" It then started to hit her as she understood. "Taichou, did you open up to Ichigo tonight?"<br>He looked away quickly, trying to hide the blush that crept up on his face. "Yes." He answered shyly.  
>Rangiku wanted to tease him so badly. "Taichou," she frowned. "Ichigo can die without your help."<br>"Then why could he not be a man and tell me to my face about his cancer? Why not Hinamori?"  
>"He's <em>twenty<em> years-old, not _one hundred_ and twenty." She knelt down. "He's still a kid."  
>Toushirou hid his face completely as he painfully thought to himself. <em>'So am I…'<em>

"Taichou… if Ichigo dies, he won't be going to Soul Society. He's done everything that he had to in his life as it is." Rangiku frowned softly. "There's nothing holding him back from moving on to Heaven… so—"  
>"I'll make a deal with you." The captain whispered, looking at her over his arm. "I do this for him, and I <em>never<em> hear you trying to form a deal with me again." He looked away quietly now. "Is that understood?"  
>Her lips curved upward weakly. "He got to you, hasn't he?" She watched the slight red in his cheeks rise guiltily at the question. "Ichigo told me once upon a time, that, he wanted to see how strong you'll get."<br>This collided with the thoughts of Ichigo admiring him, creating more conflict in his mind before he got up to his feet. "Then I guess we have to keep him alive long enough to show him how strong I am _now_."

Kisuke grinned happily. "It's a good thing that I made sure to prep your body for the transplant!"

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling Taichou?" She watched her captain hold his side where they harvested the stem cells for the operation that was not yet ready. "Do you want some milk to drink?" He glared at her.<br>"What I want, is a large meal, and to kill Kurosaki." His tone dripped with venom; angered that he was cut, stabbed, and punctured with many needles. "How much longer before his operation is over with?"  
>"Well, they took quite a bit from you. You were out for an hour, and in the recovery room for two hours to recover." Kisuke tried to calculate. "One to three more hours if everything goes smoothly for him."<p>

Everyone looked at him cautiously for this.

"What do you mean by smoothly?" Toushirou asked firmly as he tried to avoid crossing his arms.

"Ah well, it won't matter until he wakes up anyway." He waved a hand at him before thinking to himself. _'The problem with Shinigami transferring anything, is that they transfer a piece of their soul, too.' _His attention went to the ground in worry. _'Was Kurosaki-kun aware of this from the beginning, I wonder.'_

Toushirou's eyes widened suddenly at an odd feeling that he received for a split moment, quickly looking in the direction of the surgery room. _'What was that.'_ Whatever it was, it was already gone.  
>"Something wrong Hitsugaya-Taichou?" Ikkaku called out, having been watching him since he arrived.<br>"No, nothing." Although he said that, he could feel Hyourinmaru getting antsy for some reason. "I'm going to go down to the cafeteria that I saw downstairs." With that, he walked away from everyone.  
>Kisuke sighed worriedly. "Looks like Hitsugaya-Taichou is noticing it…" He stood up and stretched.<br>"Mind telling us what you mean by that?" Ikkaku slightly scowled over in his direction. He did not intend to sound rude though; after all, Kisuke held onto all of their gigai when they were in Soul Society…

The former captain looked at the group to see that he had all eyes. "I believe that, the reason why Kurosaki-kun did not want to receive help from Shinigami is because he knew the risk to the donor." A majority of the group began to tense. "Shinigami are only souls, no longer human for most. Hitsugaya-kun is a pure soul because he was born in Soul Society, so of course the matter is more troublesome."

Rangiku started to worry. "What will happen to Taichou?"

"As I was saying, we are souls, and so we don't really have blood like the human race… it's a little hard to explain, so I'll tell it to you straight. Hitsugaya-Taichou's blood gave Kurosaki-kun a share of his soul." All the others stared in surprise at this. "Since he noticed something, I'm guessing that the part of his soul within Kurosaki-kun is doing its best to merge with him. Being young and Taichou level, it's safe." Most sighed in relief to this. "There's no telling what will happen though." They did not like where he was going with this. "We have no idea what will happen. A male soul and female soul get together, and they can form a baby from that shared soul pieces from within, exactly like humans."

"Are you saying Kurosaki-kun will get pregnant?" Momo gulped nervously.

"No, no! Nothing like that!" Kisuke waved the silly idea off. "But, as strong as those two are, it's quite possible that Kurosaki-kun will receive a few new traits when he recovers." Suddenly, there was a long crashing noise down the hall. "Didn't Hitsugaya-Taichou go in that direction?" They hurried to find out.

The found the captain leaning up against the wall after colliding with a crash cart that was there just in case something went wrong. He was holding his chest, panting lighting in confusion as to what was wrong with him since he had never felt the sensation before. Toushirou did his best to slip a pill in his mouth to swallow, and then looked over his shoulder to see the most peculiar sight. His Zanpakutou was thrashing around in its sheath violently as if wanting to be used or materialized, but there was no reason to do such a thing. All eyes widened as the Zanpakutou vanished from their sight. Sheath, sword, and everything else a part of it…

"That's… not good." Kisuke mumbled.

Ikkaku looked at him, slightly irritated. "Don't tell me that Hyourinmaru did what I think it did…"

* * *

><p>It had been ten long hours since Ichigo's operation finished, having gone to sleep after being taken off drugs, and everyone waited in worry. Toushirou wanted to go in search for his Zanpakutou, but with no leads as to where it had escaped to, there was no reason to look yet. Momo forced him to stay as well for that matter, so leaving before Ichigo awoke from his slumber was out of the question. There was nothing that they could do for him though, so what did he have to stand around to wait for him?<p>

_'Damn Kurosaki, he should hurry and wake up.'_ Toushirou thought before glancing around the room. _'I have to remember to ask why I'm the one who has to babysit him while he's sleeping. The bastard's…'_

"You talk… too loud." The carrot top grumbled unpleasantly.  
>He flinched at the sudden words. <em>'Is he talking in his sleep?'<em>  
>"I was… before you… started talking." Ichigo cringed sorely.<br>His eyes rolled. _'No one is even here, Idiot. So no one is talking.'_  
>"Then why… can I hear… your voice… so clearly, Toushirou?"<p>

Toushirou's attention turned to him while slowly standing up to come to his side, mentally asking if the carrot top could hear him—could hear his thoughts. The other nodded slowly with closed eyes, but he slowly cracked them open to see that it was dark outside, yet too bright inside. A large hand came up to cover his eyes to avoid stressing his sight, and the captain went over to turn the lights off for him.

"What happened?" Ichigo groaned, putting his hand back down. "Where are we?"

"The nearest hospital to the resort, I will bring you a doctor or nurse." As he began to leave, Ichigo grabbed his hand. His touch was cold, it nearly pared with his own body temperature. "You collapsed in your room. Everyone hurried you here." He thought on it. "Why didn't you tell me you had cancer?"

"Would you have cared?" Ichigo motioned him to take the seat at his side. It was obliged. "Were they able to find a suitable donor for me?" The other nodded. "Oh? Do you know who it was then?"  
>"It was me." The captain answered. "Weird things have been happening since then."<br>He chuckled lightly at this. "Don't make me laugh Toushirou, it hurts." Ichigo raised his body up once he managed to adjust the bed settings. "Maybe the drugs are still in my system and only misheard you…"  
>"Kurosaki," he spoke seriously. "Urahara knew I was a match and prepped me without knowing."<br>_'That bastard,'_ his fists clenched angrily. _'So I heard Toushirou right when he asked if I could hear what he was thinking.'_ Ichigo looked over at the captain. _'It doesn't seem that you can hear mine, though.'_

He searched within himself to find out if there were any signs that Toushirou had in fact, become his donor for the transplant. Sure enough, unfortunately, there was a giant icy dragon resting contently upon the sideway buildings in the distance within the inner world. His eyes opened briefly to look at the little man at his side before tiredly offering him a hand in order to hold his. The gesture was not appealing to Toushirou, but obeyed him nonetheless, and was brought into his inner world to see it.

_"Hyourinmaru?" Toushirou questioned in disbelief until he looked around. "Where—"  
>"When you donated to me, you gave me a part of your soul. Hyourinmaru followed that small bit."<br>The captain looked at him stoically. "Are you saying that you can read my thoughts, and wield my—"  
>"I could have wielded Hyourinmaru before, if I wanted to. However," Ichigo watched the dragon wake.<br>"However, what, Kurosaki…" he seethed with anger. There was no reason to explain why he was furious.  
>His hand came up to the beast. "It's not safe for you here, return to Toushirou's side, Hyourinmaru."<em>

_The large beast was not thrilled about this, but sensed something nearby that was dangerous._

Hyourinmaru returned to Toushirou, and Ichigo brought them out of his inner world. "Sorry, Toushirou."  
>He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. <em>'You knew something like this would happen?' <em>He thought.  
>His head nodded once in reply. "I never wanted to take that chance with anyone… especially you." The carrot top held his side. "You still have a few years that you need to grow… to mature everything."<br>"Don't sound as if you were ever more mature than me, Kurosaki." He glared angrily towards him.  
>"Weren't you the one moaning and crying for me to continue that night?" Ichigo smirked lightly. "Even though I was on the bottle, you were far more drunk than I was—" The captain slapped him harshly…<p>

…just as Momo was walking in. "Hitsugaya-Taichou!" She roared his title correctly for once. "Why did you hit Kurosaki-kun! He went through a tough surgery and can't even fight back yet!" Rushing over, she daringly shoved the captain away to be at Ichigo's side, checking his cheek. "I am so sorry about him!"

"No," brown hues did not need to see the angry turquoise hues to know that he did not want this girl to know anything. "Toushirou just told me that I was stupid for drinking when I had a bad cancer case."  
>She started crying on his chest. "Don't do something like this again! I don't want to lose anyone anymore Kurosaki-kun! First Aizen-Taichou, then Shirou-chan—I don't want anything else bad happening to you!"<br>The captain looked at her confusedly when hearing her say that she had lost him; it made no sense to him. "I—" Ichigo looked at him, shaking his head disapprovingly of him speaking aloud right now.  
>Ichigo brought his attention to the girl. "You know that this is the same Toushirou, he's just a little harder to reach right now." He patted the girl's head tiredly. "I'm sorry for worrying both of you."<p>

_'I wasn't worried.'_ Toushirou told him bitterly through his mind.

The carrot top chuckled at this, earning pain within his side. "Hinamori, how about you tell the others that I'm—" Before he could finish, the lights were turned on, causing him to scrunch his eyelids shut at the brightness. "Why do you want to blind me?" He grumbled angrily, and they turned the lights off.

"It's good to see that you're awake now, Kurosaki-san! Are you having any weird feelings, chills, signs of anything?" Kisuke, as oblivious as he tried to make himself seem, was very serious about the questions.  
>"Weird feelings?" Ichigo blinked confusedly to fool them. "Other than wanting to go to the bathroom, there's nothing that I can think of. Why?" He then eyed him suspiciously. "If you tampered with my—"<br>"It's not like that," Ikkaku interrupted, not wanting to hear any arguments so late at night. "We're just worried if your body won't accept the donor's blood with flying colors." In a way, it was the truth…  
>"But Ichigo seems to be doing just fine, aren't you Ichigo?" Rangiku came over and embraced him as carefully as she could. "Maybe I should watch over you tonight while everyone else goes to sleep."<p>

_'Over my dead body, you'll use him for sexual needs.'_ Toushirou thought bitterly. Ichigo chuckled when hearing this, and the captain glared instantly at him. _'Shut up, I still have questions I want to ask you!'_

"I heard that Toushirou was my donor, and it seems everything is fine." The male carrot top stated as the woman pulled away. "I'm glad that none of his powers came to me, I would have been furious. But, I think it's best if he stays in here. After all, the nurses are watching him too for a little while, right?"

"That's true," Rangiku frowned before looking at her captain. "Taichou, why aren't you on your bed next to Ichigo!"She pointed to the bed a meter away; they were sharing the room, unfortunately. "Do I h—"  
>"Oh," Ichigo interrupted, his tone suddenly dead serious. "Will everyone leave? I want to tell Rangiku-san something in private. Toushirou has to stay though since he's a patient." His smile worried them.<br>_'What are you plotting…'_ The captain thought, watching as everyone else left the room. Ichigo's eyes suddenly turned glowing yellow brightly. Toushirou shivered at the room dropping temperature.

"I'm getting tired of you playing around with Hinamori and Toushirou to get to me. Whatever it is that you want, you come straight to me. Is that understood? If I learn about anymore deals, I will kill you."

They stared at him in disbelief… was this, Ichigo?

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><p>AN: Looks like someone has a temper now~


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